ATLANTA — When Alex Rodriguez was a teenager, he played on a U.S. select club of high school all-stars. A teammate said recently that A-Rod’s presence was intimidating, that he had a man’s upper body.

Kids are kids. They gave him the benefit of the doubt. He was just considered better than anyone else.

Now, his entire career raises the question if he was just a better cheater than everyone else. The boy would-be king always wanted to do things in this game that no one had ever seen.

He’s on the verge of something unusual, becoming the greatest player since Pete Rose to be banned from baseball. Rodriguez is facing a lifetime suspension for his involvement with anti-aging drug peddler Anthony Bosch, owner of the shuttered Biogenesis clinic near the University of Miami campus in Florida.

A-Rod could shorten the sentence to the remainder of this season and next if, like disgraced slugger Ryan Braun, he agrees to a deal.

Rodriguez’s attorney, David Cornwell, told ESPN radio Monday that A-Rod will fight any discipline. Last week, Rodriguez had a lawyer on a conference call to discuss his quadriceps strain with the general manager, so that’s clearly believable.

Problem is, nothing else with A-Rod is. He admitted to using steroids during his time with the Rangers. It was a byproduct of landing the largest contract in sports history, he insisted. He supposedly stopped when he was traded to the Yankees, where there’s, um, no pressure, no expectations and an understanding owner.

Yeah, right.

A-Rod claims to love the game. It would be refreshing if he would just come clean. At least as much is allowed by law. He could say he made mistakes, that he was searching for the fountain of youth and fell into the urinal that was Biogensis. In this scenario, he would be eligible to return in 2015, while keeping $60 million of the $97 million the Yankees still owe him. That could function as a lifetime ban given that he has been aging in dog years, but it would keep the door ajar.

At this point, there’s no defense for A-Rod, who, despite his 647 home runs, has become baseball’s Lance Armstrong. Braun made sure of that when he caved to the evidence against him. Rather than fight, the former National League most valuable player accepted his punishment and disappeared. The Milwaukee Brewers all-star was exposed as a despicable liar, compromising friendships and business partnerships in an ill-fated move to spare his image and career.

Braun gave Bosch, a slimy character, instant credibility. A-Rod’s one way out — that Bosch tainted samples or manipulated evidence — suddenly became a high-story leap to the pavement. Of course, MLB’s relationship with Bosch creates squirms. He’s exactly the kind of guy MLB should be trying to expunge, not help.

But MLB wants players punished, and suspensions for Texas’ Nelson Cruz and Detroit’s Jhonny Peralta could shape playoff races. And A-Rod is the big prize because there’s a strong belief that he not only cheated but interfered with MLB’s investigation of Biogenesis.

All reports say that MLB’s evidence against A-Rod far exceeds anything it had on Braun. Revealing texts, phone calls, late-night meetings, it sounds so tawdry and immature.

That, however, is who A-Rod has become. He’s not a player as much as a caricature. He has been reprimanded for playing in high-stakes poker games. He has been embarrassed by eating popcorn. His sanity has been questioned after the second opinion he received on his quad injury was from a doctor connected to steroids.

A-Rod could help the game move forward with an admission of mistakes. Then again, it’s hard to find instances where A-Rod’s priority wasn’t helping himself.

His legacy is destroyed. He’s not going to the Hall of Fame. Barry Bonds didn’t get close last winter. A-Rod has a better chance of signing autographs with Rose at a main street card shop than gaining entrance to Cooperstown.

A-Rod has said he doesn’t want to quit. Fine. But can he just end this charade?

Troy is a former Denver Broncos and Colorado Rockies beat writer for The Denver Post. He joined the news organization in 2002 as the Rockies' beat writer and became a Broncos beat writer in 2014 before assuming the lead role ahead of the 2015 season. He left The Post in 2015.

More in Sports

Over the course of the pursuit of a prep wrestling championship four-peat, there always seems to be a defining match or two that either makes or breaks the chance at joining the most exclusive club in the sport.